The Observer drugs debate + Drugs | The Guardianhttp://www.theguardian.com/world/series/the-observer-drugs-debate+society/drugs
Indexen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2015Tue, 03 Mar 2015 19:21:47 GMT2015-03-03T19:21:47Zen-gbGuardian News and Media Limited or its affiliated companies. All rights reserved. 2015The Guardianhttp://assets.guim.co.uk/images/guardian-logo-rss.c45beb1bafa34b347ac333af2e6fe23f.pnghttp://www.theguardian.com
The war on drugs killed my daughterhttp://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jun/22/mother-fights-against-war-on-drugs-anne-marie-cockburn-martha-fernback
Martha Fernback, 15, died from taking 91% pure ecstasy. Anne-Marie Cockburn is campaigning for drug legalisation to spare others her ordeal<p>On 17 July 1971 the US president, Richard Nixon, announced what has become known as the <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2011/jul/24/war-on-drugs-40-years" title="">war on drugs</a>, instigating an unrelenting campaign that has cost hundreds of thousands of lives and billions of dollars.</p><p>On the same date, 42 years later, in north Oxford, Martha Fernback, 15, and a friend bought a plastic sachet holding a crystallised gram of MDMA for &pound;40 from a dealer. It was no impulse buy. Martha's online history revealed she had meticulously researched the risks of the drug and opted to buy its most expensive variant, assuming the better quality it was, the safer it would be.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jun/22/mother-fights-against-war-on-drugs-anne-marie-cockburn-martha-fernback">Continue reading...</a>DrugsDrugs policyDrugs tradeWorld newsChildrenSocietyPoliticsUK newsLife and styleParents and parentingFamilySat, 21 Jun 2014 23:05:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/society/2014/jun/22/mother-fights-against-war-on-drugs-anne-marie-cockburn-martha-fernbackPAAnne-Marie Cockburn with her daughter, Martha Fernback. Photograph: PAPAAnne-Marie Cockburn with her daughter, Martha Fernback. Photograph: PAMark Townsend2014-06-21T23:05:00ZWhy ending the war on drugs will cut crime | Mike Bartonhttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/28/ending-war-on-drugs-cut-crime-mike-barton
Making drugs legal – but controlling supply – would stop the flow of money to crime gangs and destroy their power<p>As a police officer for nearly 34 years, I have witnessed the worsening problems of drug addiction – whether it's to controlled substances or legal drugs, such as alcohol. The Misuse of Drugs Act 1971 has prevailed throughout my time of service, but it would appear not to have had the impact that optimistic legislators planned.</p><p>Throughout those 34 years, I have recognised that it is an indisputable truth that drugs are bad. Occasionally, a retired colleague advocates a change, but mostly politicians, professionals and the media collude in the fiction that we are winning the war on drugs, or if not, that we still have to fight it in the same way.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/28/ending-war-on-drugs-cut-crime-mike-barton">Continue reading...</a>DrugsDrugs policyPolicePoliticsOrganised crimeUK newsSat, 28 Sep 2013 20:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/28/ending-war-on-drugs-cut-crime-mike-bartonJulien Behal/PA'If the war on drugs means trying to reduce the illicit supply of drugs, then it has comprehensively failed.' Photograph: Julien Behal/PAJulien Behal/PA'If the war on drugs means trying to reduce the illicit supply of drugs, then it has comprehensively failed.' Photograph: Julien Behal/PAMike Barton, Chief Constable of Durham Constabulary2013-09-28T20:00:00Z'It is time to end the war on drugs', says top UK police chiefhttp://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/sep/28/time-end-war-drugs-uk-police-chief
Mike Barton, Durham's chief constable, says NHS 'could be used to supply addicts' and urges drugs policy revolution<p>One of England's most senior police officers has called for class-A drugs to be decriminalised and for the policy of outright prohibition to be radically revised.</p><p>In a dramatic move that will reignite the debate over the so-called war on drugs, Mike Barton, Durham's chief constable, has suggested that the NHS could supply drugs to addicts, breaking the monopoly and income stream of criminal gangs.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/sep/28/time-end-war-drugs-uk-police-chief">Continue reading...</a>DrugsNHSUK newsHealthSocietyDrugs policyCrimeSat, 28 Sep 2013 20:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/sep/28/time-end-war-drugs-uk-police-chiefPa/PAMike Barton, Durham's chief constable, said: 'Outright prohibition hands revenue streams to villains.' Photograph: PaPa/PAMike Barton, Durham's chief constable, said: 'Outright prohibition hands revenue streams to villains.' Photograph: PaHenry McDonald2013-09-28T20:00:00ZThe House I Live In director Eugene Jarecki on America's war on drugs - video interviewhttp://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2013/may/25/house-i-live-in-eugene-jarecki-drugs-video
Documentary film-maker Eugene Jarecki, who has won two Grand Jury Prizes for Documentary at Sundance Film Festival, speaks to John Mulholland about his attempts to reform drug laws in the US. His documentary, <a href="http://thehouseilivein.co.uk/">The House I Live In</a>, addresses the nation's policy to drugs and the role of the criminal justice system in shaping those attitudes <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2013/may/25/house-i-live-in-eugene-jarecki-drugs-video">Continue reading...</a>The House I Live InDrugs tradeDrugsDocumentaryWorld newsFilmCultureSocietyUS newsDrugs policyPoliticsSat, 25 May 2013 13:01:32 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2013/may/25/house-i-live-in-eugene-jarecki-drugs-videoObserver/ObserverEugene Jarecki on his campaign to end America's war on drugs - video interview
Photograph: ObserverJohn Mulholland and Cameron Robertson2013-05-25T13:01:32ZEugene Jarecki and the campaign to end America's war on drugshttp://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/mar/30/eugene-jarecki-war-on-drugs
The US war on drugs has cost one trillion dollars and resulted in 45m arrests. And yet nothing has changed, argues film-maker Eugene Jarecki, a polemical campaigner to reform America's drugs laws. So what did the prisoners in a New York jail think when he showed them his documentary?<p>Once consigned to the fringes of libertarianism, the argument for the legalisation of drugs has received an unlikely boost in America in recent months with the release of a documentary entitled <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2012/nov/22/the-house-i-live-in-review" title=""><em>The House I Live In</em></a>. Coinciding with the decision<a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/nov/11/colorado-marijuana-law" title=""> by the states of Colorado and Washington to legalise marijuana</a>, the film <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/2012/jan/30/sundance-festival-prizes-dark-grim" title="">won the Grand Jury prize at the Sundance film festival last year</a> and has arrived at a moment when Americans are beginning to reconsider the efficacy of their nation's drug policy.</p><p>Packed with facts, stories and polemics, the film traces the history of America's changing attitudes to drugs and the role of the criminal justice system in shaping those attitudes. It also focuses on a variety of different individuals – inmates, prison guards, judges – caught up in the massive industrial process of incarceration. And there is a powerful strand running through the film in which David Simon, the man behind the TV series <em>The Wire</em>, explains why the war on drugs has proven a counterproductive disaster.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/mar/30/eugene-jarecki-war-on-drugs">Continue reading...</a>DrugsDocumentaryDrugs tradeDrugs policySocietyPoliticsUS newsWorld newsFilmSun, 31 Mar 2013 00:02:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/mar/30/eugene-jarecki-war-on-drugsJeff Vespa/WireImageGeraint Lewis/Rex FeaturesJeff Vespa/Getty Images for The Weinstein CompanySamuel CullmanMike McGregorDirector Eugene Jarecki talks to Otisville prisoners after they have watched the film. ‘They’re in shock,’ he says. ‘They’ve just seen their lives up on screen.’ Photograph: Mike McGregorMike McGregorDirector Eugene Jarecki talks to Otisville prisoners after they have watched the film. ‘They’re in shock,’ he says. ‘They’ve just seen their lives up on screen.’ Photograph: Mike McGregorAndrew Anthony2013-03-31T00:02:00ZRussell Simmons: the war on drugs made victims of the black communityhttp://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/mar/30/russell-simmons-war-on-drugs-black-victims
The hip-hop mogul and executive producer of The House I Live In tells of the suffering he saw while growing up in Queens<p>I'm particularly concerned about how the war on drugs has destroyed the fabric of the black community in America. I grew up in a lower middle-class neighbourhood in Queens that was destroyed by drugs. It was the heroin capital of Queens. Everybody shot dope. My friend in the eighth grade was shooting dope. I've seen the suffering first-hand and I've been involved in the suffering too. I used every drug there is, back in the day, but it didn't make me a bad person: it just made me a sad person, a diseased person. It didn't make me a criminal.</p><p>What would have made me a criminal is if I'd been arrested and sent to jail for 20 years, which could have happened easily. A great number of kids in my neighbourhood did go to jail, and they didn't come out so well. They were educated in criminal behaviour, came home violent criminals, and became repeat offenders.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/mar/30/russell-simmons-war-on-drugs-black-victims">Continue reading...</a>DrugsDrugs tradeUS newsWorld newsSocietyDocumentaryFilmCultureRace issuesThe House I Live InSat, 30 Mar 2013 23:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/mar/30/russell-simmons-war-on-drugs-black-victimsMike McGregorJeff Vespa/WireImageGeraint Lewis/Rex FeaturesSamuel CullmanJeff Vespa/Getty Images for The Weinstein CompanyRussell Simmons, hip-hop mogul and executive producer of the film. Photograph: Jeff Vespa/Getty Images for The Weinstein CompanyJeff Vespa/Getty Images for The Weinstein CompanyRussell Simmons, hip-hop mogul and executive producer of the film. Photograph: Jeff Vespa/Getty Images for The Weinstein CompanyInterview by Killian Fox2013-03-30T23:00:00ZDavid Simon on America's war on drugs and The House I Live Inhttp://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/mar/30/david-simon-americas-war-on-drugs
The writer/director, who contributed to this hard-hitting documentary, on why US drugs policy has gone terribly wrong<p><strong>On Baltimore… </strong>I was a police reporter for the <em>Baltimore Sun</em> for 13 years. I covered the drug war extensively. When I started in 1982, the federal prison population was about 550,000, and 35% were violent offenders. When I finished my run as a reporter 15 years later, it was approaching 2 million, and only 7% were violent offenders.'</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/mar/30/david-simon-americas-war-on-drugs">Continue reading...</a>The House I Live InDrugsDrugs tradeDrugs policySocietyPoliticsUS newsWorld newsDocumentaryFilmThe WireDavid SimonSat, 30 Mar 2013 23:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/society/2013/mar/30/david-simon-americas-war-on-drugsMike McGregorJeff Vespa/WireImageJeff Vespa/Getty Images for The Weinstein CompanySamuel CullmanGeraint Lewis/Rex FeaturesDavid Simon, creator of The Wire and contributor to The House I Live In Photograph: Geraint Lewis/Rex FeaturesDavid Simon2013-03-30T23:00:00ZBrad Pitt: America's war on drugs is a charade, and a failurehttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/30/brad-pitt-war-drugs-failure
The actor and executive producer of the documentary The House I Live In says US drugs policy needs a radical rethink<p>Today, with very little effort, anyone can land in virtually any city in this country, and within a day or two, procure their drug of choice. Since declaring a war on drugs 40 years ago, the United States has spent more than a trillion dollars, arrested more than 45 million people, and racked up the highest incarceration rate in the world. Yet it remains laughably easy to obtain illegal drugs. So why do we continue down this same path? Why do we talk about the drug war as if it's a success? It's a charade.</p><p>The drug war continues because it is a system that perpetuates itself. On a local level, any time a bust is made, scarcity drives up prices and, of course, the profit potential. History has taught us that there is no shortage of opportunists willing to fill the void and so the cycle continues and rates of drug use and dealing remain unchanged while incarceration skyrockets.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/30/brad-pitt-war-drugs-failure">Continue reading...</a>The House I Live InDrugs tradeDrugsBrad PittDocumentaryWorld newsFilmSocietyUS newsSat, 30 Mar 2013 23:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/30/brad-pitt-war-drugs-failureMike McGregorGeraint Lewis/Rex FeaturesJeff Vespa/Getty Images for The Weinstein CompanySamuel CullmanJeff Vespa/WireImageBrad Pitt, one of the executive producers of the documentary, with the director, Eugene Jarecki, at a screening in Los Angeles.
Photograph: Jeff Vespa/WireImageJeff Vespa/WireImageBrad Pitt, one of the executive producers of the documentary, with the director, Eugene Jarecki, at a screening in Los Angeles.
Photograph: Jeff Vespa/WireImageBrad Pitt2013-03-30T23:00:00ZShanequa Benitez: how I started dealing drugshttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/30/how-i-started-dealing-drugs
Ex-drug dealer and contributor to The House I Live In on the perils of being drawn into the dangerous world of drug dealing<p>I grew up in a project [housing estate] in Yonkers, New York. It's a drug area: there's a lot of dope and crack where I live. When I was 18, I found out about prescription drugs – that I could play middle man and make money on the top without having to be outside. That's how I started [dealing drugs]. I come from a two-parent household, so even though everything wasn't sunny and palm trees every day, I was a little better off than a lot of people that I was growing up with. But I had this sense of entitlement, like somebody owed me something. Once I started dealing I just got lost – in over my head.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/30/how-i-started-dealing-drugs">Continue reading...</a>Drugs tradeDocumentaryFilmDrugsUS newsWorld newsSocietyCultureThe House I Live InSat, 30 Mar 2013 23:00:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/mar/30/how-i-started-dealing-drugsMike McGregorJeff Vespa/WireImageGeraint Lewis/Rex FeaturesJeff Vespa/Getty Images for The Weinstein CompanySamuel CullmanShanequa Benitez outside the Cromwell Towers housing project in Yonkers, New York. Below: Russell Simmons.
Photograph: Samuel CullmanInterview by Killian Fox2013-03-30T23:00:00Z'This is the beginning of the end for marijuana prohibition across the world'http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/nov/11/colorado-marijuana-law
Colorado voted to legalise recreational use last week in a move that could hurt the cartels and challenge the long US 'war on drugs'<p>Another glass facade among a string of restaurants, boutiques and offices in downtown Denver, there is little to distinguish the premises save the logo with a green cross. The reception is bright and neat and, at first glance, non-descript. Community event notices on the walls, orchids on a desk, a visitor on a sofa filling in a form.</p><p>Copies of <em>National Geographic</em> adorn the coffee table but the eye is drawn to colourful hardbacks: <em>The Big Book of Buds: Marijuana Varieties from the World's Great Seed Breeders</em>, volumes I to III. Beside them, another catchy title: <em>The Cannabible</em>.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/nov/11/colorado-marijuana-law">Continue reading...</a>ColoradoDrugsDrugs tradeUS newsWorld newsSocietyUS elections 2012Sun, 11 Nov 2012 00:05:00 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2012/nov/11/colorado-marijuana-lawRick Wilking/ReutersA woman holds a sign at a pro-marijuana rally at the University of Colorado in Boulder. Photograph: Rick Wilking/ReutersRick Wilking/ReutersA woman holds a sign at a pro-marijuana rally at the University of Colorado in Boulder. Photograph: Rick Wilking/ReutersRory Carroll2012-11-11T00:05:00ZWhat Britain could learn from Portugal's drugs policyhttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/sep/05/portugal-drugs-debate
A decade ago Portugal took a radical new approach to illegal drugs by treating users as people with social problems rather than as criminals. Could it work in the UK?<p>Susannah is being treated in the physiotherapy unit of the Centro das Taipas, a vast, pink former mental institutution close to Lisbon's airport, where she is having hot towels pressed on to her lower back. Built during the second world war, the wards of wing 21B are these days committed to the treatment of drug addiction.</p><p>Susannah is a long-term drug user and is intelligent but troubled. She first smoked cannabis at 13. At 17, she began taking heroin with the father of her children. Now 37, she has been dependent on drugs – mostly heroin – for almost two decades.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/sep/05/portugal-drugs-debate">Continue reading...</a>Drugs policyPortugalDrugsHealthSocietyPoliticsWorld newsEuropeSat, 04 Sep 2010 23:07:18 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/sep/05/portugal-drugs-debateEstela Silva/EPAA cannabis smoker in Porto, Portugal, during a march in favour of legalising drugs Photograph: Estela Silva/EPAEstela Silva/EPAA cannabis smoker in Porto, Portulgal, during a march in favour of legalising drugs Photograph: Estela Silva/EPAPeter Beaumont2010-09-04T23:07:18ZLegalise drugs and a worldwide epidemic of addiction will follow | Antonio María Costahttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/sep/05/legalisation-drugs-antonio-maria-costa
Those who argue we should decriminalise the trade in narcotics are blind to the catastrophic consequences<p>The debate between those who dream of a world free of drugs and those who hope for a world of free drugs has been raging for years. I believe the dispute between prohibition and legalisation would be more fruitful if it focused on the appropriate degree of regulation for addictive substances (drugs, but also alcohol and tobacco) and how to attain such regulation.</p><p>Current international agreements are hard to change. All nations, with no exception, agree that illicit drugs are a threat to health and that their production, trade and use should be regulated. In fact, adherence to the UN's drug conventions is virtually universal and no statutory changes are possible unless the majority of states agree – quite unlikely, in the foreseeable future. Yet important improvements to today's system are needed and achievable, especially in areas where current controls have produced serious collateral damage.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/sep/05/legalisation-drugs-antonio-maria-costa">Continue reading...</a>DrugsHealthSocietyDrugs policyPoliticsDrugs tradeWorld newsMexicoAmericasEpidemicsSat, 04 Sep 2010 23:06:43 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/sep/05/legalisation-drugs-antonio-maria-costaAntonio Maria Costa2010-09-04T23:06:43ZBritain's drug policy will not improve until we are bold enough to experimenthttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/sep/05/portugal-uk-drugs-decriminalisation
We can't know the potential benefits of innovations like Portugal's unless we research them, says Alex Stevens<p>For years, the UK government has consistently used a myth to stave off any bold innovations in our failing drug policy. It has predicted that liberalisation would inevitably lead to higher rates of drug use and related harms. The example of Portugal seriously challenges this argument.</p><p>The idea that decriminalisation increases drug problems was already on shaky ground. Several countries and US states have reduced or eliminated criminal penalties for drug possession. They do not generally have higher rates of drug use than their neighbours. The rate of cannabis use in the Netherlands, for example, is lower than in the UK, even though the Dutch decriminalised the use of cannabis in 1976. The Portuguese experience again shows that there is no necessary link between the severity of sanctions and rates of drug use. There have been some increases reported in drug use by Portuguese adults since 2001, but these are no greater than those seen in other southern European countries. More important are rates of drug use among children, as they are more vulnerable to the harmful effects of illicit drugs. In Portugal, these rates have fallen since decriminalisation.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/sep/05/portugal-uk-drugs-decriminalisation">Continue reading...</a>Drugs policyPortugalDrugsUK newsEuropeSat, 04 Sep 2010 23:01:58 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/world/2010/sep/05/portugal-uk-drugs-decriminalisationBy Alex Stevens2010-09-04T23:01:58ZWhy do we so wilfully cover up the failure of the war on drugs? | Angus Macqueenhttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/aug/01/angus-macqueen-drugs-trade-policy
The vulnerable are left unprotected by our attitudes to substance abuse, argues a leading documentary maker<p>Asuccess rate of 1%. In what area of public life would we accept that? Last year, Professor Neil McKeganey of the University of Glasgow, one of the most respected academics in Britain, established that the authorities seize just 1% of the heroin that enters Scotland in any one year. He sees no reason to think this would be any different for the nation as a whole.</p><p>Where were the headlines? Surely the press, obsessed by crime and drug-fuelled violence, would have it splashed across the front page. Not a peep. Why not?</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/aug/01/angus-macqueen-drugs-trade-policy">Continue reading...</a>DrugsDrugs policyDrugs tradeSat, 31 Jul 2010 23:09:52 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2010/aug/01/angus-macqueen-drugs-trade-policyAngus Macqueen2010-07-31T23:09:52ZThe war on drugs is a waste of time | Tom Lloydhttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/sep/20/drugs-british-police
It is not only very expensive and misdirected activity, but counterproductive and harmful<p>Several generations have now lived under the shadow of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971, including police officers like me who became increasingly disillusioned with its effects. Despite all the money and effort poured into the so-called &quot;war on drugs&quot;, the inexorable spread of drugs and the accompanying damage is powerful testament to failure. What we are doing is not only very expensive and misdirected activity, but actively counterproductive and harmful.</p><p>As a young constable in London, I was shocked when I saw the &quot;pit&quot;, a hospital room used for the temporary storage of the latest collapsed &quot;junkie&quot; picked up from the pavements of the West End. After minimal treatment they awoke and staggered off, back to their next hit, hoping it was not going to be their last. Some ended up in the mortuary.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/sep/20/drugs-british-police">Continue reading...</a>Drugs policyPoliceDrugsDrugs tradeUK newsPoliticsSocietySat, 19 Sep 2009 23:07:32 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/sep/20/drugs-british-police35274.000000/Getty Images/PhotoAltoHands passing joint, close-up Photograph: 35274.000000/Getty Images/PhotoAlto35274.000000/Getty Images/PhotoAltoHands passing joint, close-up Photograph: 35274.000000/Getty Images/PhotoAltoTom Lloyd, former chief constable2009-09-19T23:07:32ZHow many lives would have been lost if we didn't have controls on drugs? | Antonio Maria Costahttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/sep/20/drugs-decriminalisation
Decriminalisation would be disaster for poor countries. We need a balanced approach covering health, development and security<p>There is a growing chorus, not least in the pages of the <em>Observer</em>, calling for an end to drug control. The arguments are by now well known: too many people are going to jail and not to treatment. Eradicating the supply of illicit drugs is meaningless without reducing demand. Drug control has spawned a massive criminal black market. Some even say that the costs of prohibition far outweigh the benefits (although there is no body count of people who haven't died thanks to drug control versus those who have been killed in the crossfire).</p><p>Policies are changing. Three former presidents of Brazil, Colombia and Mexico recently called for a major rethink. The new US anti-drugs chief, Gil Kerlikowske, has called the expression &quot;war on drugs&quot; unhelpful. A number of countries, such as Portugal and Mexico, have decriminalised the possession of small amounts of drugs for personal consumption.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/sep/20/drugs-decriminalisation">Continue reading...</a>Drugs policyDrugs tradeUK newsWorld newsPoliticsDrugsSocietyLawSat, 19 Sep 2009 23:05:16 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/sep/20/drugs-decriminalisationAntonio Maria Costa2009-09-19T23:05:16ZThe case for legalising all drugs is unanswerable | John Grayhttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/sep/13/legalise-drugs-john-gray
The extreme profits to be made from narcotics – a direct result of prohibition – fuel war and terrorism. Legalisation is urgent<p>The war on drugs is a failed policy that has injured far more people than it has protected. Around 14,000 people have died in Mexico's drug wars since the end of 2006, more than 1,000 of them in the first three months of this year. Beyond the overflowing morgues in Mexican border towns, there are uncounted numbers who have been maimed, traumatised or displaced. From Liverpool to Moscow, Tokyo to Detroit, a punitive regime of prohibition has turned streets into battlefields, while drug use has remained embedded in the way we live. The anti-drug crusade will go down as among the greatest follies of modern times.</p><p>A decade or so ago, it could be argued that the evidence was not yet in on drugs. No one has ever believed illegal drug use could be eliminated, but there was a defensible view that prohibition could prevent more harm than it caused. Drug use is not a private act without consequences for others; even when legal, it incurs medical and other costs to society. A society that adopted an attitude of laissez-faire towards the drug habits of its citizens could find itself with higher numbers of users. There could be a risk of social abandonment, with those in poor communities being left to their fates.</p> <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/sep/13/legalise-drugs-john-gray">Continue reading...</a>PoliticsDrugs policyWorld newsDrugs tradeHealthSocietyUK newsMexicoUS newsDrugsLawAmericasSat, 12 Sep 2009 23:05:55 GMThttp://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2009/sep/13/legalise-drugs-john-grayJohn Gray2009-09-12T23:05:55Z